A Summer Back in Riverdale
by JADR13
Summary: After high school, most of the gang went their separate ways. But this summer, it's time for a reunion, will some old relationships rekindle?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Mr…."

"Andrews." The man said to the butler. His hands were in his pockets as the wind crept into his shirt and crawled down his back, making him shiver. Even though it was summer, the temperature had dropped as a cold wind found its way into the small town of Riverdale. He, hesitantly, took his hands away from the warmth of his pockets to straighten his bow tie, before checking the time on his watch.

The butler ticked a name off the sheet on the clipboard and smiled. "Ah yes, Mr. Andrews. Come this way," he said brightly.

Archie followed the butler into the mansion. A grand chandelier hung in the centre of the ceiling in the foyer, lighting up the entire room with a warm, yellow glow. It was comforting, and the people talking with glasses of champagne in their hands, laughing enthusiastically, calmed him down as he stared at the various portraits on the walls. There was an impressive stair case, at the end of the room, made of dark wood, with a red carpet that draped down the middle of it.

The butler lead Archie into the lounge, adjacent to the foyer. The lighting in here was darker, but a fire on the side crackled and burnt brightly, filling the room with warmth, while creating flashing shadows on the walls of the lounge

"Thanks," Archie said, as the butler politely nodded his head and walked out of the room and back outside into the cold. He looked around the room. The large, puffy sofas surrounding the fire beckoned him to sit down, but they were all taken. He picked up a full glass of champagne off the end table and took a sip. The cold, fizzy liquid sent a satisfying jolt to his heart as he swallowed the drink.

"Archie!" someone called behind him.

"Jug!" Archie said as he hugged his friend happily. "How have you been?" Jughead did his best to look smart, Archie could tell. He wore a sharp, black suit and he wasn't wearing his hat, showing off his jet-black hair, which was gelled back. He held a half-full glass of champagne in one hand, the other was in his pocket.

Jughead smiled. "Well, busy, actually." He chuckled, "I'm still here in Riverdale, and I work down at the mall. How's college anyway?"

"It's great thanks, but it's great to be back." Archie nodded, and Jughead smirked.

Over Jughead's shoulder, Archie noticed a woman walking towards them. She was dressed in a long, crimson ball gown. Her dark hair was brought down onto her right shoulder, revealing a beautiful pearl earring on her left ear, and a diamond necklace lay smartly around her neck. She walked elegantly but fiercely. Her face was familiar.

"Well, don't you two look fine." Veronica said as she sneered and looked at Jughead, then Archie, who was grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes met Archie's.

"Veronica," Archie said, planting a kiss on her cheek. She smiled and looked up at him. He hadn't realised how much he missed her until now.

"It's so good to see you again," he said, tearing his gaze away from her. "The gang's almost complete. Where's Betty?"

"I haven't seen her yet," Jughead replied, "she was almost ready last time I called her."

"Yeah, I was texting her on my way here, she'll be here soon." Said Veronica, picking up a glass of champagne. "Here's to a drop-dead dazzling reunion," she lifted her glass into the air.

Jughead and Archie clinked their glasses with hers. As they sipped their champagne, they heard a voice behind them.

"Oh my god, I'm so glad you guys made it!" Archie heard an eager voice behind him.

Cheryl, with her iconic long, red hair, beamed as she walked up to them. She looked stunning in a navy blue, strapless dress, and her jewellery glistened in the firelit room. She kissed Archie and Jughead on the cheek and hugged Veronica, giggling. "It's going to be such a great night. If you need anything I'll be around, just ask,"

"Thanks Cheryl!" Veronica said, "You're rockin' that dress girl, stop hogging the limelight!" She laughed, placing her hand on Cheryl's arm and admiring her dress and jewellery.

Cheryl confidently put her hands on her hips and began posing, as if in a photoshoot. Veronica conjured up an imaginary camera, and began to take pictures.

"Yes, work the camera, keep going, give me eyes, give me eyes, yes, there we go, gorgeous!" She cried, her and Cheryl now in hysterics. Archie and Jughead looked at each other.

"What's wrong with them?" Jughead asked, jokingly. His gaze was now stuck over Archie's shoulder. Archie turned around. Betty stood in the doorway, her hair was wet and her light green dress was damp at the shoulders. She waddled in, blowing her hair out of her face and looking around the room.

"B, over here!" Veronica was the first to stride over to Betty, grinning, and hugged her, "You look beautiful," She said holding Betty's hands.

"Thanks V," Betty smiled. She turned over to Jughead and kissed him on the lips, "Fancy seeing you here Juggy, long time no see," she said jokingly. Then she turned to Archie.

"Archie Andrews," she whispered slowly, her mouth slowly growing into a smile.

Archie chuckled as she went in to hug him, "great to see you too Betty Cooper."

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, this is my first fanfic and I really enjoyed writing it. Not sure where I really want to go with this story, but if you like it then please leave a review and let me know. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jughead, Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Cheryl stood in a circle in the lounge, champagne glasses in hand, chatting and laughing. Ronnie was glad Cheryl had become friends with the others. High School was a difficult time for her, there was no denying it.

Archie passed his hand through his styled, red hair and smiled, his teeth a pearl white. He was tall and quite bulky, his suit was tight, especially around his arms. Ronnie was slightly taken aback. He was handsome, there was no denying it. She would never have guessed that her feelings for him would all come flooding back so quickly, although she was far from admitting it. The way he held himself, his laugh, his voice; everything brought her back to the times when they were together. Did she wish they still were?

 _Come on Ronnie, stay calm_ she thought to herself.

"Veronica?!" Cheryl was calling her.

"Yeah, I'm here," She shook the thoughts out of her head.

"What do you say we do a little dance battle later?" Cheryl said, "the dance floor has our name on it," she smiled.

"You still remember the choreography?" Ronnie asked.

"Of course," Cheryl replied, "But to be honest, there's no guaranteeing I'll be able to do it," she said, pointing enthusiastically at the drink in her hand.

Ronnie laughed, "It's on girl," she said and winked at Cheryl, who strode over to join another conversation. Leaving the four friends.

The core four.

"So, Archie," Betty began, "Tell us all about college, what's it like? Is there anyone special you've got your eye on?" She smirked, and noticed Veronica looked uncomfortable.

Archie snickered "Oh god no, just been concentrating on my studies, it's tough. Don't have time for all that stuff."

Betty wasn't sure whether to believe him or not.

"What about you, how's working for The Register?" He asked, whilst bringing his glass to his lips and taking another sip.

"I love it, writing is my passion, which I know is a cheesy thing to say," she replied. "Mom can be a bit difficult sometimes though."

Archie nodded. "What about you Veronica, how are you finding the college life?"

Ronnie shrugged, "It's fine I guess, I'm meeting some awesome people, nowhere near as awesome as you guys though, but…"

"What can I say?" Jughead interjected, "We are the best-looking group of friends you'll ever have." He looked coolly at Betty, who was nodding her head matter-of-factly and raising her eyebrows at Ronnie.

"True," Archie said, smirking. He glanced quickly at Ronnie.

Another guest had just arrived, Archie noticed him standing in the doorway, searching the room for someone. He then strolled over to them, and slid his arm around Veronica's waist, giving her a peck on the lips.

"Hey Ronnie," he said casually, as Veronica smiled. She turned to the rest of the group.

"Um," Betty started, "V, would you care to introduce us?" She looked somewhat excited.

Ronnie giggled embarrassingly, "Guys, this is Jake, we met in college and yeah, I was struggling with some work, Jake was there to help me and things just went from there really," she responded, looking up at Jake's face and smiling.

"Archie, nice to meet you," said Archie introducing himself, shaking Jake's hand stiffly. He didn't look at Ronnie.

Jughead and Betty introduced themselves.

"So, what are you majoring in Jake?" Asked Jughead. Archie knew Jughead was just making conversation, but he acted as if he was interested, for Betty's sake Archie imagined.

Jake had sandy blonde hair, styled upwards at the front, and faint freckles on his face. He was quite tall, and he wore a navy-blue suit with the top button undone. It was clear he played football, with his broad shoulders and bulky figure. He looked at Jughead with his turquoise eyes.

"I'm studying psychology, but I'm really at college to play football to be honest," He admitted, chuckling.

"Nice," Archie said, "I like a bit of football myself…"

"We'll leave you guys to it," Betty interjected, looking at Ronnie. "We're going to go find Kevin," she said wrapping her arm around Ronnie's. Ronnie waved a goodbye over her shoulder as she was pulled away, leaving the three boys talking, champagne glasses in hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Jesus, Ronnie, he's cute," Betty gasped. Her arm hooped around Ronnie's, they strolled around the room, searching for Kevin.

Ronnie smiled, "I knew you would approve, he's such a gentleman too!"

They spotted Kevin sitting on the armrest of one of the sofas, talking to Cheryl. He had his legs crossed, and was steadying his champagne glass on his knee. He looked tremendously suave in his perfectly tailored suit, and he wore an impressive watch with a dark blue strap on his left wrist. His hair was perfectly styled and as he looked up at Cheryl, he smiled.

"Well don't you girls look simply irresistible?" He said once he saw Ronnie and Betty.

"Kevin, you won't believe what just happened," Betty said, giggling.

"Wait, don't tell me," He demanded, holding his finger up to Betty's lips. "Has Archie come out of the closet?"

"Oh, so close!" Betty said, "but I'm afraid not."

"Damn," Kevin lightly punched his knee.

Betty began, "So, we're all just standing there catching up, and the cutest blond-haired beauty I've ever seen, waltzes in like it's his fucking graduation ceremony and _kisses_ our very own Ronnie over here, on the lips," she glanced over at Ronnie, who was smirking.

Cheryl and Kevin were speechless. Slowly, a smile grew on Kevin's lips.

"Where is this guy you speak of?" He asked slowly and seriously. Betty glanced in Jake's direction, where he, Archie and Jughead stood chatting.

When Kevin saw Jake, he raised his eyebrows. He sluggishly brought his champagne glass to his lips and took a sip, still not taking his eyes off Jake. "Yes, he'll do just fine," he said, now turning his head to Ronnie.

Cheryl nodded in agreement, "Damn, girl," she said, using her hand to fan her face.

"My thoughts exactly," Betty said, looking over at Ronnie.

"Guys, quit it!" Ronnie pleaded, giggling, "He's actually such an amazing guy,"

"Yeah, we can tell," Kevin said, raising his eyebrows.

Ronnie crossed her arms, smirking. "You want to know how we actually met?"

"Oh my god, yes!" Betty said as Cheryl and Kevin nodded eagerly.

"So, I was in the library, and it's about 12 at night, and I have this assignment in for the next morning." Ronnie said. "I thought I was alone in the library, and so… I started singing along to my music."

"Oh my god, no you didn't," Kevin gasped, he was getting extremely excited.

"Sure did, and I heard someone else singing with me, so I turned around and Jake's standing there, with his textbook, with the cheekiest smirk I've ever seen," Ronnie explained.

Cheryl had her mouth open, "Jesus, it's like a fucking High School Musical movie, I want that to happen to me!"

Ronnie nodded, grinning, "and then we got talking, and here we are, a few dates later."

"That was beautiful," Kevin snivelled, as Betty and Cheryl smiled proudly at Ronnie, as if she was their daughter.

Ronnie Laughed, "you guys, stop it, it's not a big deal!"

"Um, whichever man decides to try and please Veronica Lodge is either a demigod or stupid." Said Kevin, jokingly.

Ronnie put her hands on her hips and glared at Kevin, although a few seconds later, her mouth turned to a smirk, and then to a full grin. They all started laughing, and Betty accidently spilt some champagne on the floor.

When they had all calmed down, Cheryl looked at her watch, "Anyways, Guys, anyone up for some dinner?"

Kevin nodded, "I'm such a lightweight when I drink on an empty stomach, and I do want to remember this night, so bring on the food, girl"

"Well, the thing is, because we're dressed all fancy we were going to have like a 3-course meal, but the chef cancelled on us last minute, so… We got a huge order from Pop's!" Cheryl said.

"Cheryl," Ronnie started, "You're an angel,"

Cheryl smiled, "Oh stop it, you,"

A few moments later, Chuck and Moose arrived with several huge boxes of Pop's burgers, fries, and milkshakes. As they walked in, everyone cheered and crowded round the two boys. Betty, Ronnie, and Kevin grabbed a burger and a milkshake each and sat side by side on one of the sofas, eating happily.

"Ugh, why are these so good, it's like I feel so guilty before eating them, but then I take a bite and I'm sent to a heaven where everything is made from Pop's burgers and there are rivers flowing with milkshake," Betty said, before taking another large bite and savouring the taste.

"Same, to be honest," Ronnie agreed.

Archie, Jughead and Jake sat down opposite Ronnie, Betty, and Kevin on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Watch those burgers Betty," Jughead said playfully.

Betty opened her mouth in shock, "Rich coming from you Juggy, when was the last time you had something for dinner that wasn't a burger?"

Jughead furrowed his brow, thinking, "Good question," he said, before nodding his head and smiling at the others, who were all chuckling and shaking their heads.


End file.
